A client on the inpatient psychiatric unit asks the nurse, Why is ...

[tichca]

A client on the inpatient psychiatric unit asks the nurse, Why is the daily schedule so full of activities and why do we have so many rules to follow? Which of the following is the best response by the nurse?
 
  1. A daily routine helps you keep on track and organize your thoughts. The rules help people live together respectfully.
  2. Clients with mental illness get too chaotic and unpredictable when they don't have a structured routine to follow.
  3. Idle hands and minds are the devil's playground.
  4. The real world is full of rules and activities for everyone to follow.

Question 2

The client asks the nurse how the SSRI antidepressant that the client is prescribed works. What nursing response is correct?
 
  1. SSRIs work on depression by sedating the centers of the brain responsible for worrying.
  2. SSRIs allow more of a chemical neurotransmitter, serotonin, to be available to areas of the brain.
  3. SSRIs are stimulants that enhance the activity of the brain and pleasure centers.
  4. SSRIs decrease the amount of norepinephrine available in the lower cortical areas.

[DylanD1323]

Answer to Question 1

1
Rationale: A routine helps clients keep on track and organize their thinking as well as their activities. Rules promote harmony and respect in a therapeutic environment. Remarks like idle minds and devil's playground can be confusing and belittling to the client. References to the real world and referring to client behavior as chaotic and unpredictable imply that clients with psychiatric illness are incapable of living independently in the community and are belittling to the client as well.

Answer to Question 2

2
Rationale: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors decrease the reuptake of serotonin from the neural synapse, thus allowing more to be present at the postsynaptic receptor site. SSRIs are selective for serotonin and do not lower norepinephrine. They are neither stimulants nor sedatives.